Blind
by J.J. Lennox
Summary: A potions accident left Draco Malfoy blind. Now it is up to Healer Hermione Granger to help him on his road to recovery, but what will happen on the way neither can guess.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

This is my first published fan fiction so please go easy on me. However, I am very curious to know what you my lovely readers think.

I don't have a beta so please forgive any spelling and grammatical errors, and let me know about them.

It will be rated M for later chapters.

I own nothing except the plot. All hail Queen Jo!

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**Prologue**

It was a slightly boring, at least in Hermione Granger's opinion, midsummer afternoon that we begin out story. Said war heroine was sitting in her office at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries when she heard a call over the public announcement system.

"Healer Granger to Ward One" came the voice over the loud speaker, "Healer Granger to Ward One."

Hermione was curious about the call as she worked primarily as a family physician and rehabilitation therapist, but she stood from her desk and grabbed her Healer's robes as she made her way out of her office on the third floor and towards the stairwell that would take her to the ground level of the magical hospital.

As she was descending the stairs Hermione couldn't help but wonder what she was being called to the Artifact Accidents Ward. She emerged through the door on the main level of the hospital and made her way towards the nurse's station.

When the nurse on duty saw her she simply pointed to a room directly to the left of the station that was used for emergency procedures in the ward. Hermione walked to the room and before entering allowed herself a moment of calm and a deep breath to centre herself before her work began.

As she entered the room, Hermione immediately noticed the chaos of it. There were several occupied beds in the long room with Healers working around all the stretchers. Weaving her way between the flurry of activity and flying objects she found the ward supervisor hunched over one of the beds and went over to Healer Bryce to find out why she was there.

"Healer Bryce," she addressed the man in charge of the Artifact Accident Ward.

"Oh good, Healer Granger," he responded as he moved away from the bed where he had been working on a man's torso, as he stepped away Hermione noted that the injury looked like a chemical burn. "There's been an accident in the potions lab here at the hospital, quite bad I'm afraid as you can see. They were working on some new experimental potions," he began before shouting an order to a younger healer at a bed nearby. "We sent for you because of your unique background as both a healer and a therapist."

Hermione nodded at his assessment, she knew the potions research department had been working on several very intricate projects, "I understand what do you need me to do?"

The Healer led her away from the open section of the room towards one surrounded by curtains at the end of it. "Most of the patients are potions masters that were hit with the potion that exploded, and their injuries are related mostly to the actual potion having touched their skin. However, the patient who has been the most severely affected was working on the potion they were researching that would cure blindness. The potion exploded in his face due to an apprentice's error and since it was still in the development phase the results were not what was expected," He broke off turning towards a noise to his right. The patient in the bed nearest them momentarily distracted him as she cried out in pain before being subdued by a Healer with a quick wand.

Hermione turned back to the Healer waiting for him to continue, still not understanding why she had been called to the ward. When he at last faced her again she saw the look of pity in his eyes at the misfortune of the people in the ward.

He shook himself briefly before continuing, "I was led to understand that you had been assisting the potions department in their research, and had worked closely with them on the development of the potion, and so I thought it best that you help this particular patient." He turned to the curtains surrounding the closed off bed, before he pulled away the curtain he spoke once more, "We have healed the initial burns from the potion on his hands and face, but we are quite sure that given the nature of the experiment that when he wakes he will be blind. I believe you can help."

Finally pulling aside the curtain for them to walk through, Hermione followed him into the small area surrounding the bed. When she at last saw the reason why she had been taken from her own ward she was startled to see Draco Malfoy laying unconscious on the bed before her.


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

Well here it is Chapter 1! I have been writing this quite quickly so far, and I have been editing, but please let me know about any mistakes. I'm doing research as I go, and I have a general idea about where I want this to go, but no firm plans about how long it will be or where precisely it will end up.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and added this story as a favourite.

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**Chapter 1**

Hermione stared at the unconscious body on the bed in front of her in shock. At the moment he was hardly recognizable with the bandages covering his face and hands. "Draco," she gasped out before moving further into the curtain enclosed space to his side. She examined him closely for a moment before pulling herself together and turning back to Healer Bryce.

"You said the potion he was working on was the experimental blindness cure potion?"

"Yes, that's correct. From what we understand, an apprentice handed him the ingredients in the wrong order as he was brewing and the potion reacted adversely. Mr. Malfoy here couldn't move away fast enough and caught most of the exploding potion in his face. It was an unfortunate thing to happen to such a gifted potions master, but it likely saved the rest of the staff in the lab from a similar fate. You understand why we assume he may be blinded when he wakes?"

"Yes, I understand. I will of course endeavor to reverse the effects of the potion, but I will need information from Draco when he wakes before I can fully understand what part of the process he was working on so I can combat the side effects. I will also likely need to speak to the assistant he was working with, but that can wait.

"I did work with the potions department on some of the research for the blindness cure, but I admit I haven't been able to keep up to date on the progress of the potion." The young healer looked back to the man in the bed, concerned for what was happening to him, and afraid she would be unable to help him.

The ward chief continued, "He is one of our most brilliant potioneers, and we are hoping for a full recovery," he stated. "I have been given permission from your supervisor, and Mr. Malfoy will be your only patient for the time being. All your other regular patients will be divided up among your colleagues for the time being, at least until Mr. Malfoy is on the road to recovery."

Hermione nodded glancing once more at the man who lay so still in the stark surroundings before giving her full attention back to Healer Bryce. "I hope," she began, "that we can move him to a private room as soon as possible, at least for the time being until he wakes up. I feel that the more stable and calm the environment he wakes up to the less frightened he will be."

"A room is being prepared for him now. I agree with your assessment, it will of course be startling for him when he wakes without vision, if we have guessed correctly," he sighed deeply, "It is my sincere hope that we are wrong this time, however if we are not, his full care has been given over to you, and we will provide anything you need to aid in his recovery."

Thank you, Healer Bryce," Hermione stated earnestly.

"I'll leave you to it then, an orderly should be by shortly to transport him to his private room," he gave her a final nod before exiting the partitioned part of the room and returning to the rest of his patients in the ward.

Hermione took a moment to look back down at Draco, as she was brushing the hair away from his bandaged face the orderly came in.

The following few moments were taken up with the necessary hubbub of moving a patient from one room to another through the crowded hallways of the hospital. When at last they were in the quiet of the private room and all the monitoring spells were in place, Hermione took time to settle herself into a chair beside the bed and reminisce.

x-x-x-x-x

_It had been three years since the war had ended, and Hermione thought life couldn't have been more perfect. She had gone back to Hogwarts to finish her final year after the war was over before taking a gap year. Now she was immersed in university life where she was taking an unprecedented triple major. Yes, life was actually, pretty good right now, and normal, however unusual that was for her._

_Hermione was at the moment, preparing for her summer classes. With a triple major, she would have to attend university straight through the year over the next several years if she intended to graduate on time, which she did. Given one of her majors was muggle and the other two magical, her schedule was even more complicated, but she loved it nonetheless. _

_Finally having decided on the path she wanted to take, the young muggleborn was only determined further in trying to achieve her goals. With this decision in mind she walked towards her potions lecture on the magical side of campus with a bounce in her step. _

_The lecture passed in a flurry of note taking, and before she could fathom it the three hours were over. Quickly packing her bag before moving towards the exit, Hermione didn't notice as another student with his head down moved into the doorway at the same time as her. They bumped into each other roughly, and Hermione apologized before looking up. She gasped, there before her was Draco Malfoy, son and heir of the illustrious and disgraced house of Malfoy. She quickly pushed past him on her way out._

_"Granger, wait," he called after her._

_Before she could realize or rationalize what she was doing, Hermione whipped out her wand and hexed him with a Flipendo, knocking him backwards before hurrying off in the opposite direction. _

_She ran without direction and exited the potions building before running across the Quad. She could hear running feet behind her but ignored it as she veered to the right, now in the direction of her dorm room. She was close to her sanctuary when she heard a whispered Impedimenta behind her and her movement was slowed. _

_She stopped trying to struggle forwards through the spell and turned around to face the boy who had been the bane of her existence for six years at school. "What do you want, Malfoy?" she snapped. _

_He frowned at her for a moment before opening his mouth, seeming to struggle with what he wanted to say, now that she was in front of him. Finally he took a deep breath and opened his mouth, "I just wanted to say, that I'm sorry." He paused swallowing thickly, "I'm so sorry, for everything I put you through." _

_When she didn't respond right away he had turned away from her and mumbled, "I'll just be going now, sorry for wasting your time."_

_He had only walked a few steps before she called after him, "Wait."_

_He paused but did not turn around. Hermione struggled for a moment with what she was about to do, but regained her Gryffindor courage and walked around him so they were face to face once more. She stuck out her hand and stated as confidently as she could, "Hello, my name is Hermione Granger, nice to meet you."_

_He stood gaping at her for a moment before coming to his senses and taking her hand, shaking it he replied, "Draco Malfoy, nice to meet you too."_

x-x-x-x-x

Hermione smiled as she remembered that fateful meeting at university, now seven years later they had developed a lasting friendship. Hermione rest her hand on Draco's arm, hoping that she would be able to help him. Seeing that he was still resting peacefully she settled in to wait for him to wake up.


	3. Chapter 2

**Authors Note:**

****Thank you all for your lovely reviews and those of you who are following this story or have favourited it. Keep reading and reviewing. I'm very interested to hear what you have to say. As always let me know of any spelling or grammatical errors. Remember I am Canadian and so may spell things a little strangely.

As I stated before I am doing research as I go so all the information may not be scientifically accurate. I am also trying to blend what I know about Magical medicine with real muggle medicine so forgive me if it doesn't always make complete sense.

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**Chapter 2**

Hermione had fallen asleep at Draco's bedside waiting for him to wake up. As she yawned and stretched the crick in her neck she felt movement beneath her hand, which was still resting on Draco's arm.

x-x-x-x-x

"Draco?" A calm voice asked.

Draco stirred from his sleep. He noticed right away the smell of antiseptic, and the slightly groggy and lethargic feeling that you get when you wake up from anesthesia. He assumed he was in St. Mungo's and for the moment he was unable to come up with why. Slowly he tried to open his eyes, but realized they had been covered in bandages. What in Merlin's name had happened to him? So he tried speaking instead to the voice he heard as he awoke.

"Hello," he rasped out, his mouth dry.

A startled gasp was his only reply for a moment before he felt pressure on his arm, someone squeezing it. "Oh Draco, I'm so glad you're awake."

It took him a moment but he recognized the voice he thought, "Hermione?" he coughed out.

"Yes, it's me," she responded softly, "Oh, would like some water?"

At his soft grunt she shuffled away from him to the table on his left and poured a glass of water from the pitcher that was resting there. She came back to the bed and helped him to sit, dutifully fluffing the pillows behind him before bringing the water glass to his mouth. She slowly tilted the glass for him, and he drank greedily sating his thirst.

Once his mouth no longer felt like sandpaper he began his inquiry, "Hermione, what happened? Where am I? Why are my eyes covered?" he fired off quickly, knowing she would be able to comprehend his rapid questions as well as why he was concerned about his state of being. He heard her sit in the chair by his bed once more before she gave her response.

He heard her give a little sigh before she responded, "Draco, there was an accident in your lab here at the hospital. The potion you were working on blew up when your assistant handed you the wrong ingredient. You were working on the cure for blindness potion."

She stopped and drew in a deep breath, and he already knew that the worst news was about to come, "The healers who dealt with the aftermath of the accident have healed you as much as they could, your face and hands were burnt quite severely, but they also believe that you may be blinded as a result of the contact the potion had with your eyes."

Draco couldn't speak for a moment. Blind, he might be blind, what would he do if he was, his career would be over. His thoughts continued to run rampant for a few moments before he came back to what Hermione had just said, the healers believed he would be blind, but they didn't know. He reached up to his face to begin trying to take the bandages off so he could confirm their suspicions or hopefully prove them wrong. His hands were clumsy as a result of the healing and the bandages on them.

"Here, let me," Hermione voiced, standing once again to help him remove the bandages from his face. Her touch was light as she slowly unwrapped the dressings, careful not to pull too harshly on them lest she disturb the new skin beneath. When she was at last at the point of uncovering his eyes she paused.

Draco was about to reach up to finish the process when she pushed his arm back down, "Are you the healer, or am I?" she scolded. "When I pull the bandage away I want you to open your eyes very slowly. Allow them to get used to the light in the room before jumping to any conclusions, alright."

He nodded, and she at last pulled the last of the wrappings away from his face. Doing as Hermione instructed, Draco opened his eyes slowly. As he opened them fully he realized that his eyes still registered the light in the room as he winced slightly from the brightness of it, but he could see nothing. He could tell that Hermione, who was still standing by him was observing his reactions. He suddenly realized he didn't know why she was here with him, and he voiced this rather bluntly, "So, why are you here?"

Hermione chuckled lightly and he knew that she would be rolling her eyes at that moment. "I've been taken off my other cases and I'll be your primary healer until you're set to rights."

Draco noticed immediately that she didn't say until he could see again. She knew just as well as he did that there were no guarantees in this process, especially as he had been dealing with a potion that was still in the experimental stage. The fact that he could garner so much subtext from the intonation of Hermione's voice also hit him. He supposed what they said was true, that when you lost one of your senses the others strengthened to compensate for the loss. He made note of this and planned to put it to the test as soon as possible.

"I know you're probably tired Draco, but I do have a few questions for you," at his nod of assent she continued, "Do you remember what happened before the accident at all?"

He thought for a moment, "No I don't really remember what happened. I recall coming into the lab this morning and reviewing my notes on the blindness cure potion before going back to my most recent trial, but nothing beyond that."

"I expect that is in part due to the anesthesia, in combination with the trauma of the accident, and I hope you will regain more of your memory. Next, I want you to tell me what you can perceive with your eyes?"

"Well," he took his time coming up with the words to express his perceptions, "I can sense the light, it hurt my eyes for a moment when I first opened my eyes, but I can't see anything else."

"That's actually an excellent sign," she reassured, "it means that the light receptors in your eyes were not destroyed, and that the link from your eyes to your brain is still intact. However, I suspect that the photoreceptors which take in the information your eyes see and convert it into signals to send to the brain may have been damaged as well as possibly the optic nerve which processes those signals. That does narrow down the field of problems we have to fix though."

Draco realized that she was telling him these things, not only for his benefit, but for hers as well. She was assuring herself that she could help him. He knew all about the human eye, having studied it extensively in his research for the blindness cure. Hermione had worked with him on that research, and so she knew that he was familiar with the information as well. Despite her slight redundancy he appreciated her concern for him, and found it amusing how little she had changed after all the years he had known her. She still felt a need to recite everything she knew about a subject when it came up. However, that need was tempered by her maturity most of the time these days, sometimes she just couldn't seem to help herself.

She had paused for a moment, and Draco could hear her writing on what he assumed was his chart. "Now I want you to let me know if anything at all changes in your condition Draco, it could be the slightest thing so don't overlook anything."

"Whatever you say, Hermione," he replied at once.

"Excellent!" she acknowledged his acquiescence to her request, "Now, I would like to do a basic exam, and then I want you to stay here overnight and rest. I need to do some research and then tomorrow we'll do a more thorough examination."

He recoiled at the idea of spending the night in the hospital and told her as much, "You mean to make me stay here?"

"Yes Draco. Your hands and face are still healing and I'll need some time to set up my house for you to stay in."

"Your house, why can't I stay at the manor?"

"Don't be daft, it doesn't become you," she teased, "The manor is much too large for you to stay in by yourself in your current condition. I know you, and I know you won't abide by a full time nurse hovering over you, or for that matter your house elves. What you need is a smaller space that you can learn to get around in easily by yourself, at least until you are more accustomed to your situation."

"Fine," Draco groused back, "But you had better come get me first thing tomorrow. You know I hate hospitals. Do your examination then."

"Yes dear," she chuckled before proceeding to check his wounds and his sightless eyes. "Now rest up Draco, you'll need your strength tomorrow."

"I know, I know," he grumbled, "Merlin knows what tortures you'll put me through while I'm locked away in that house of yours, at your mercy."

She laughed; a full rich sound that he had never noticed was so lovely, before leaning over and dropping a kiss on his head. "It's nice to know that your humor has not been affected," before she wished him a goodnight and left his room, leaving behind her delicate scent of lavender and vanilla, a scent that Draco had always associated with comfort, and now knew why.


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:**

****Dreadfully sorry to make you wait so long my lovely readers. As I've said none of this is prewritten so I write a chapter and then edit as I go.

I didn't sleep well last night so my editing may be poor, just let me know.

As always feedback is always appreciated. I've been loving your reviews, and thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favourited, and followed.

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**Chapter 3**

Draco split the intervening hours while he was waiting for Hermione to come get him with sleep and harassing the nurses of the ward. It wasn't his fault that they were all incompetent. He just wanted to get out of the wretched place. When the first nurse had come in with his lunch and had proceeded to try and feed him he had shouted at her that hewasn't a child and could manage himself.

She had left in a huff and told him to feed himself if he could. He had accepted her challenge, which had proved more difficult than he had anticipated. Draco had found himself groping around his tray with his hands instead of the utensils trying to find the different items on it. He had even slopped water all down his front when he had missed his mouth. As he sat there in a pout he thought that at least if the nurse came back she wouldn't notice he had spilled on himself as his wet hospital gown was drying rapidly.

A while later someone had come to collect the tray without saying a word. It seemed word had already got round and the staff of the ward knew to avoid a confrontation with him. Good, he thought, maybe he could get some peace from molly-coddling nurses for a while at least.

Draco took Hermione's advice and rested while he could, he had a nap. He couldn't remember the last time he had had a nap. It seemed a little bizarre, a full grown man having an afternoon nap, but he was tired as a result of the medications he had been given as his face and hands healed. When he woke several hours later it was dinner time and a different nurse brought it to him, who had apparently been warned about his temper. She left the tray, handing him his utensils before making her escape.

Remembering his earlier revelation, Draco set out to test his heightened senses. Using his hearing and his sense of smell he very carefully identified each item on the plate in front of him before carefully feeding himself, this time without using his hands and without spilling on himself. So those two senses were in fact more useful. He wasn't sure about his sense of taste though, hospital food was always bad, but Draco had never had reason before to eat it, so he had no clue if it was always this bad or if his heightened senses made it seem worse.

Once he was finished with his meal Draco began to ponder ways to test his sense of touch, but came up at a blank. He figured that it could wait until later as he didn't have anything particularly interesting to touch at the moment anyway. When someone came to get his tray he settled in to go to sleep for the night. He figured it was still early, but he found that despite his nap he was still tired. Sleeping most of the night away would also mean he wouldn't be thinking about the fact that he was spending the night in the hospital. He fell asleep hoping that Hermione would show up early as she had said she would.

x-x-x-x-x

Hermione had gone first to the medical library of the hospital after she left Draco's room. There she pulled off the shelves several large tomes about the human eye as well as the afflictions they were prone to. Hermione spent several hours in the library going over some of the books she had selected. When she had absorbed as much information as she could in one sitting she gathered the books she had not finished with and made her way to the apparition point within the hospital.

As Hermione landed in her small house in the country she began to look around carefully, making note of the things she would have to change for Draco's arrival the next day. She took the books she had borrowed to her study before making her way to her bedroom and a bath that was calling her name. It had become habit to have a bath after she came home from the hospital, both as a method of relaxation as well as to wash the grit, grime, and general hospital smell from her body at the end of a long day.

Once she was fully immersed in the hot lavender scented water she leaned back in the big claw foot tub letting the days events wash over her mind. She thought about how quickly her day had turned into a slightly boring one with few patients into one that brought turmoil and a patient she had never considered having in her care.

The brightest witch of her age was the nickname she had earned when she was still a girl at Hogwarts, well now it was time for her to prove that moniker true. She knew she would do everything she could for Draco, not just because they were friends, nor because she was a healer and it was her duty. No, the reason she had to help Draco was for his own sanity. Though they hadn't become reacquainted until several years after the war and the immediate aftermath of it together, they had spoken of that dark time in their lives. She knew that Draco had gone to university and then later to work for St. Mungo's in the hope that it would help redeem him and his family. He needed to help people, so that he could show them that he wasn't a bad person, who had changed and regretted his past mistakes.

Hermione could relate to his need. The main reason she had gone into healing was to help victims of the war recover and rehabilitate back into a normal life. Becoming a Healer had helped Hermione heal herself. After the tragedies of the war and all the suffering that people had gone through both emotionally and physically, and would continue to suffer without proper care she knew that she needed to help people. Seeing the joy in a patients eyes as they relearned the ability to walk after being unable to, or seeing the faces of a couple who thought themselves unable to have a child learning they were having a baby. Every smile or tears of happiness had healed Hermione a little more inside. Yes, the young healer knew exactly what Draco would go through if he lost his eyesight permanently, he would go mad not being able to do what he loved and helping people in the process, because that is what would happen if she were unable to work as a Healer. It was no longer a simple desire to help others that drove her and Draco on, but a deep seated need to continue doing what themselves as well. It was their coping mechanism.

Pulling herself from her musings, Hermione noted that her bathwater was growing cold and she had turned into a prune. She hoisted her tired body from the water and toweled herself off. Walking back into her bedroom she found her most comfortable pair of sweat pants and an old t-shirt that had probably once belonged to Ron or Harry before making her way back downstairs and to the kitchen where she prepared herself a light supper.

The remainder of the evening was spent cleaning up the house, and ensuring that all hard pieces of furniture had cushioning charms on them so even if Draco did walk into one he wouldn't be hurt. When her task was accomplished she decided to go to bed early. She knew that the next day would be a long and trying one. Grabbing one of the books she had brought home from the library on her way, Hermione settled into her plush bedding confident that she was on the right track to curing Draco.

x-x-x-x-x

Draco had been awake for what felt like hours, though in reality had probably only been one. He lay in his uncomfortable hospital bed staring sightlessly at the ceiling trying to determine if he could see anything, while also keeping his other senses alert so no one would catch him off guard.

He heard the door open and could smell a waft of the scent that Hermione had left behind yesterday. Finally, she was back to get him, "Hermione," he uttered tonelessly.

"Hello Draco," she replied with a hint of surprise in her voice before she bit out, "Did you have a good night, because I'm surprised one of the nurses didn't come in while you were sleeping and finish you off, you prat."

He sat up slowly before turning in the direction of her voice to say, "She was feeding me like a baby. I may have been injured, but I'm not crippled in the physical sense. I tried to tell her, but she just kept shoving food in my mouth. What else would you have me do?"

Hermione sighed in resignation, "Fine, fine, I know Nurse Hardy and she can be overbearing, but you could have put a little more effort into being civil with her. For Merlin's sake Draco you work here too, you may not work on the healing floors, but these people are technically your colleagues."

"If I promise to be nicer will you get me out of here sooner rather than later," he practically begged.

"Alright, keep your shorts on, first I need to do a quick exam on your face and hands and then we can go back to my place."

Draco actually smiled, "Excellent, and I do hope you brought me some clothes. I have no idea where mine are."

Hermione ignored him as she did her exam, poking and prodding his new skin. He noticed that the new skin was very sensitive and when Hermione ran her hands over it, it caused him to shiver slightly.

"Sorry, was I too rough, I know new skin can be very sensitive."

"No, it's alright, it was just an odd sensation is all," he told her quickly trying to disguise the fact that the shiver had only started because of the odd feeling, but had become pleasurable.

When Hermione had finished her exam she pulled away, and Draco could hear her rooting around in her bag. "Here we are, fresh clothes. I hope you don't mind but I got one of your house elves to bring some of your things over to my house."

He shook his head, "No, it's fine, don't worry about it."

"Okay, here are your clothes," she handed him a stack of clothing, "Do you need help getting dressed, or will you be able to do it?"

"I think, I'll be fine," he assured.

"Right then, I'm just going to have a quick chat with the nurse on duty, I'll be back in a few minutes."

At his nod she left the room. Draco carefully swung his legs out of the bed and settled them on the floor. Pulling apart the pile of clothing he found fresh boxers and a pair of slacks. Pulling them on he had to work a little harder to carefully direct his movements so he wouldn't trip over himself. He had pulled on his socks, but realized he didn't know if Hermione had brought him shoes, when she came back into the room.

"Oi, Granger," he teased, "Brought me clothes but no shoes, eh?"

"Shut up, Malfoy," she retorted in the way they had when they were children, "I brought your shoes, I just figured you'd need some help getting those on."

"Whatever," he grumbled before trying to pull the hospital gown off over his head. He was unsuccessful and got it tangled around his head and shoulders. He heard Hermione start laughing at him as she came over to assist him.

"Honestly Draco, it's a backless gown, how did you manage this?"

"There are ties," he rejoined through the fabric of the gown.

After the gown was disentangled from around him, he stood reaching for the shirt he had left on the bed. He found it and pulled it on, but as he started to fumble with the buttons he felt Hermione brush his hands aside.

"Let me," she said simply, and proceeded to button his shirt up. She did up his cuffs, and was just straightening his collar when he spoke.

"I'm glad it's you,"

He could tell she had cocked her head to the side in the way that she did when she was confused, "What do you mean?"

"I'm just glad it's you who got my case. If it were anyone else I think I'd be out of my head by now"

She reached up and brushed his hair down for him, knowing how he was so vain about it before she commented, "I'm glad too, I don't think I could have trusted anyone else with your case," she paused for a moment and the air was heavy around them. "That and I know you would have put up a hissy fit with anyone else, and I would have eventually been called in anyway, so really it just saved a lot of time and anger when they picked me right off," she joked, trying to ease the sudden tension in the room.

She moved away from him before instructing him to sit so she could help him with his shoes. "I'm not that bad, am I Hermione?"

She scoffed at him, "Are you going senile Draco, or do you not remember the conversation we had mere moments ago about you harassing the poor nurses last night."

"What, senile, me?" he answered indignantly, "And last night with that nurse was different and you know it."

"Very well," she finished and stood from where she had been kneeling tying his shoes. She placed her hands on his shoulders before she responded to his earlier question, "You have your moments where you forget to think about other people, but no, you are not that bad Draco," pulling away from him she helped him stand once more, "Now come on, let's get you out of here before another evil nurse comes in and tries to feed you," she said sarcastically.

x-x-x-x-x

Draco had argued fiercely when Hermione had tried to put him in a wheelchair. He had even suggested that Hermione get him one of those stick things that blind muggles used rather than the indignity of being pushed around. She had laughed whole-heartedly at that statement, before telling him off.

"It's hospital policy that all patients be escorted from the premises in a wheelchair. It's a liability thing," she brushed him off, "And you need to practice with a cane before you can use it to properly to get around. Now if you're done arguing with me we can go if you like?"

She had phrased her last sentence like a question, Draco knew from the inflection in her voice, but she was really being conniving, trying to get him to shut up about the wheelchair by preying on his weakness. She knew that he wanted to get out of the hospital as soon as humanly possible. Giving up with grace was not easy for Draco, but he did as she asked and stopped his arguing.

Hermione watched his face transform as he realized her ploy and his eventual pout as he gave in to her request. "Excellent, now give me your arm so we can sit you down."

Despite her brusque bedside manner with him, Draco knew that Hermione was an excellent Healer. It was only because they knew each other so well that she was able to prod him into doing what she wanted with her manipulations.

After a quick chat with a nurse at the desk on his floor and some signing of paperwork they were on their way to the elevator and heading down to the main floor. As they came to a stop at the entrance of the hospital Hermione spoke, "I thought apparition would be easier for now. Floo can be disorienting at the best of times."

At his nod of acquiescence Hermione helped him stand from the chair and took his arm. When he nodded once again that he was ready he felt the familiar squeezing sensation that was apparition.


	5. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:**

Finally another chapter! I decided to upload this chapter as soon as it was done, but I think I might try to write a few chapters ahead so the wait between won't be as long. I never know when the muse will hit.

In this chapter we start to deal with the aftermath of Draco being blind, I hope that I have stayed true to the characters as written by J.K. at least to a certain degree.

As always thank you to my lovely reviews, I am so glad you are enjoying it so far. And to those of you who are following or have favourited, thank you as well.

**Warning:**

Some of you may find some of the material from here on offensive as it relates to people who are blind. I am trying to be sensitive to that issue, and when I write I am drawing on my own experiences with my grandfather who was blind and had Alzheimer's. So fair warning if you are offended let me know. I would be happy to open a dialogue about what I may have written inaccurately.

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**Chapter 4**

As the world stopped spinning around Draco and they came to a standstill somewhere in Hermione's house, Draco nearly retched. Somehow the feeling of apparition by side-along in combination with the helplessness of being blind was an incendiary mix that led to one being ill. Taking deep breaths through his nose, Draco managed to fight off the need to find the nearest loo and bend over the porcelain throne therein. Hermione, of course, noticed his distress.

"Are you alright?" she asked as she put a cool hand to his forehead.

After a moment Draco replied, "Yes, I'll be fine."

He could tell that Hermione was examining him closely before she addressed him once more, "Perhaps you should have a lie down for a while before we do anything else."

At the thought of once more being stuck in a bed like an invalid Draco recoiled, "No, I'm fine, really," he stressed, "Maybe a spot of tea would help though. You well know they can't brew a decent cup to save their lives at the hospital."

The young healer chuckled, knowing the truth of his statement. "Alright, well to start we are standing just inside my front door. Now, I want you to hold onto my shoulder and we'll walk through to the kitchen. I know it's going to be hard at first but counting out your steps may help while you're learning to get around. We'll continue with the rest of the house later, but first tea."

Hermione sat him down in a chair at her kitchen table before moving away to prepare the tea. She puttered around for several minutes before coming back to the table with the tea service. Preparing his tea the way she knew he liked, black with one sugar, it she gave him his cup before doctoring her own.

Over tea they discussed the ways that Hermione was going to help him adapt to his new circumstances while they were working on a cure. In the wizarding world there wasn't much in the way of social assistance for those with disabilities, unlike in the muggle world. Hermione had done some research on the ways that muggles coped with being blind and she spent almost an hour imparting her new knowledge to Draco.

Draco felt a little more at ease by the end of their conversation knowing he would eventually get used to being blind and not feel so helpless. Though he wanted to wallow in misery at his condition, and the prospect that he would never see again Hermione kept him occupied. He knew that it would be better for his own future if he learned the methods Hermione spoke of that would help him to be independent once more.

The first method that they focused on was familiarizing Draco with his new surroundings. He had spent time in Hermione's house over the last few years, and he thought he knew his way around fairly well, but without his sight it was almost as though he had never been their before. They spent the rest of the morning and afternoon walking around the house with Hermione instructing him on what was in front and behind him as he tried to remember the number of steps it took to get from the kitchen to the living room or from his bedroom to the bathroom.

It was slow going as the potioneer had to change his way of thinking and retrain his brain. Although he walked the same path over and over again he would still bump into the walls or the furniture, even when he thought he was clear of them. After several hours of practice he was able to successfully navigate his way from his bedroom to the bathroom and back with no incident and even made it downstairs to the living room only bumping into the coffee table once. When Hermione had expressed her pleasure at his swift progress Draco couldn't help but smile before it quickly turned into a frown.

Noticing his facial expression Hermione asked him what was wrong.

Sighing deeply he responded, "I know that I've made progress today, Hermione, but I can't help but wonder if this will be a permanent life change. I'm anxious to get started on the research for the cure too."

His candor amazed the witch as she observed him. Draco was normally so reserved. Yes, over the years they had gotten to know each other and opened up to each other, but rarely would he ever allow a weakness to show through. Hermione was both impressed that he was so honest with her and worried about his state of mind.

"Draco, I know it must be difficult to wrap your mind around all of this right now, but I thought that we would concentrate for a few days on getting you comfortable before we started our research. This way if I have to leave or you need to go somewhere even, you can manage on your own. I promise you that we'll get to the cure soon, but you do still need to recover from your other injuries as well as cope with your blindness."

The wizard nodded his understanding of the sentiments Hermione had expressed before his rejoinder, "I have faith in you O Healer of mine," he teased before he reassured, "I am coming to terms with this, but I'm not sure I will ever be able to fully cope with the idea of being blind forever."

He heard Hermione stand from the chair she had been seated in across from him and make her way over to him. "I know, and I don't blame you for not wanting to adjust to the idea. Just know I will do everything in my power to fix this," she dropped a kiss on his forehead before moving away from him. "Now you relax for a little bit while I make some dinner, hmm?" she questioned.

Giving his confirmation he heard her walk towards the kitchen where she began moving around preparing their meal. Listening to his best friend hum to herself while she worked, he couldn't help but wonder if they had always been so touchy feely with each other before his accident.

Before the accident Draco couldn't recall whether he and Hermione touched as much as they did now. Granted she was his Healer, so there would be a certain amount of physical contact between them. Perhaps he had just taken for granted her small touches and reassurances. They had been best friends for quite a while now and he supposed there was bound to be some intimacies between them. He pondered the matter a little further before deciding that he liked having someone who was comfortable enough around him that they would touch him freely without thought. There was nothing wrong with a bit of human comfort, and thinking no more of the matter he got up and moved into the kitchen when Hermione called to him to tell him that dinner was ready.

After they were finished with their supper Hermione practically ordered Draco to bed. When he protested she brushed his comments aside to tell him "You've had a rough couple of days Draco, I'm looking out for your health, and besides tomorrow is going to be just as trying. I have a full slate scheduled for your rehabilitation as well as a full examination that needs to be done."

He muttered under his breath, "Do you ever quit?"

However, he was not quiet enough as Hermione who had been clearing the table rounded on him before giving him a piece of her mind. "No, I don't ever quit!" she practically shouted. She paused for a moment before continuing vehemently, "If I had quit when Harry, Ron and I were searching for the Horcruxes what would have happened? Or before that even when the boys were being idiots chasing their whims without thinking first, if I had just given up on them who knows what our lives would be like right now. Maybe I wouldn't even be alive. Or what if I had given up on you, and never listened to what you had to say when we met at university, would we be friends now?" taking a deep breath she continued on, "I will never give up Draco, no matter the cost, I won't quit because if quitting means that all the good things in my life would never have happened I don't want to imagine what giving up on you will mean."

Draco stood from his seat and as quickly as he could made his way to his dear friend who was now standing in the middle of her kitchen crying. He enfolded her in his embrace before he spoke, "I'm sorry, so sorry. You know I didn't mean it like that. I know I'm a shitty patient, and I'll try to be better," he drew away from her and though he could not see her he knew that she needed to see the sincerity in his face. "If it were you in my place Hermione, I wouldn't ever quit either," he spoke sincerely.

"You can be such a git sometimes Draco," she returned before hugging him once more, her tears abating. "You're lucky I like you, after all the shit you've put me through in the last few days, I'm hard pressed not to beat you to a bloody pulp right now."

He chuckled softly, "I know, I am lucky to have you," he stated, "Thanks for not beating me up too!" Hermione laughed, and after they were both in control of themselves once more they parted.

After the emotional stress of the last few minutes and the physical strain of the day, Draco suddenly found himself quite exhausted and with Hermione's aid made his way to bed. Once he was settled in, he had the brief thought that he was indeed incredibly lucky to have a friend such as Hermione before drifting into slumber.

x-x-x-x-x

After she had Draco settled in for the night Hermione went back downstairs to finish cleaning up after their meal. When that was done she went to her study and read about the human eye to further her research, taking notes as she went. After a while seeing that she was no longer focusing clearly Hermione leaned back in her desk chair for a moment and closed her eyes.

Hermione had to admit that she was conflicted, at least to herself. Draco was of course her dear friend but now that he was her patient and living in her house for the foreseeable future the dynamic between them had changed. Keeping her personal life and professional life separate was something she had always prided herself on. Now, she had no choice but to allow her two worlds to mix. Her outburst earlier had shown her just how conflicted she was. It had been a speech full of declarations meant to convey how much she cared for Draco, and yet as his Healer she knew she should be keeping her personal feelings out of the matter. It seemed that where Draco was concerned she was wholly unable to separate herself from their friendship while he was in her care.

Sighing out in frustration she at last came to the understanding that if she could not hold the personal and professional spheres of her life apart she would just have to accept their comingling and move on. She was sure that once Draco was better and she was back to her regular patients and schedule she would feel more at ease and would revert back to her neatly compartmentalized life.

At last giving up her research as a bad job for the night, Hermione made her way upstairs. She briefly peeked in on Draco to be sure he was alright. Seeing him sprawled across the bed snoring lightly she chuckled to herself before closing the door again and making her way to her own bedroom. She decided to have a bath to help ease away the stress of the day before trying to sleep.

Clipping her hair to the top of her head she filled the bathtub with her favourite scent before slipping into the steaming water. After soaking for some time and feeling the tension leave her body she stood from the tub and carefully stepped out, grabbing a towel she pulled the plug and let the water and her worries drain away. Pulling a bottle of lotion from the vanity in the bathroom she began to work it into her still damp skin.

Finished with her bath time routine she wrapped herself in the towel before making her way back into her bedroom and towards her closet when she heard a strange sound. Instantly her wand was in her hand as she made her way to the door of her room with all her senses on high alert. She heard what sounded like a person talking from somewhere on the second floor of the house. She listened for a moment more before assessing the situation. If someone had broken into her house, which was highly unlikely given the high security wards she had surrounding her property, she was pretty sure it was only one person. Hoping she was correct in her assumptions Hermione flung the door of her bedroom open and came into the hallway wand first.

There was no one there. Hermione was sure that she had heard the voice coming from the second floor and not downstairs. Moving to the top of the stairs she peered down into the darkness hoping to keep the edge on the intruder. Before she even set foot on the stairs a loud yell came from behind her. Whipping around she realized it must have been Draco muttering in his sleep, and from the sounds of it he was having a nightmare. She ran to his room, unmindful of her state of undress. Hurrying to his side she reached out for him, and brought him into her embrace, rocking him gently she soothed him with small sounds.

"It's just a dream, Draco, just a dream. I'm here," she spoke softly and at last felt him relax in her arms as he woke up fully.


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** Well my dear readers, I'm back. I'm dreadfully sorry it took so long since my last update, I'm afraid school and life got in the way, but I'm done with that now so hopefully updates will be more regular now.

As always I am writing and editing as I go so there may be errors, and please let me know if there are any grievous errors.

Thanks so much to all those who reviewed, followed and favourited. You are why I keep going.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Draco felt as though he was drowning, slowly and painfully. The feeling of water filling up his lungs was agonizing, and there was nothing he could do about it. He tried to swim in the direction he thought was up, trying desperately to escape his fate, but he made no progress. Surrounded by nothing but the dark water that was stealing his life away, Draco continued to struggle against his invisible tormentor. For surely, someone was doing this to him, and he wasn't simply drowning on his own. Finally as the fight began to leave his body, and he succumbed to the idea of death and whatever might lie beyond, he jerked awake.

Gasping for breath he laid rigid in the bed unaware of his surroundings for a moment as he regained his breath. After sometime he became aware of someone making soothing sounds and holding him gently. Breathing in deeply he recognized the scent that he had come to identify as Hermione. Relaxing further with the knowledge that he was safe in her arms he settled. He continued to lie quietly in her embrace and let her comfort him, as it seemed only she could.

The dream was an old one, and one he had not experienced in many years. It wasn't simply a dream, but a nightmare that he had lived out as a child. He had told Hermione about it years ago, when in an effort to gain each others trust they had confessed their deepest fears. His had, and probably always would be drowning. He was an excellent swimmer, and had no troubles when he elected to enjoy the sport, but the idea of drowning, as he was kept underwater by an invisible force was overwhelming.

His phobia was the result of a brilliant idea of his fathers one afternoon when he was just a boy of six. He had refused to get in the water while they were on vacation, because he was not a confident swimmer yet. His father then decided that there was only one way for him to overcome his fear and that was to throw him in and force him to swim. In his infinite wisdom his dearly departed daddy had not anticipated that the tide would sweep the small child away. It had been his mother who had saved him from his fate, diving into the Mediterranean and pulling him back to the surface.

When at last he felt in control once more he slowly sat up and embraced Hermione fiercely. She had known not to try to talk to him so soon after his ordeal and simply sat with him, one body providing human comfort to another.

"Thank you," he whispered in her ear as he continued to draw tranquility from her.

She squeezed him back before returning, "Any time."

Enjoying her warmth and scent it had taken Draco some time before he realized that his arms were wrapped around Hermione's bare shoulders. Unthinkingly he lowered his hand down her back before coming into contact with some material.

"Hermione, what are you wearing?" he questioned.

At last pulling back from him sharply she spluttered, "Well, I um, I had just gotten out of the bath when I heard you and I didn't think . . ." she trailed off clearly embarrassed.

Suddenly, unbidden by him Draco had visions of Hermione in the bath, her lithe body resting in the sweetly scented water before rising from it smoothly, the water dripping from her skin. Lost in his lustful thoughts he did not notice that Hermione had continued to speak.

"I swore there was someone in the house up here with us, but when I came out into the hall there was no one, and I started for the stairs before I heard you call out, and I just ran in. I didn't even consider that I was still in my towel, I mean can you imagine fighting off an intruder in a towel," here she laughed out. "Clearly, my fighting instincts aren't what they used to be."

At the confirmation that she was still only wearing her towel, Draco couldn't help but groan out loud.

"Are you alright?" she asked in concern.

Coming to his senses, Draco quickly composed himself as best he could. Quickly coming up with a reason for his outburst, "Yes, it was just my drowning dream again. It always used to shake me up, but it's been a long time since I had it. I guess I'm just not used to it."

"Of course," she acknowledged, "I still have nightmares sometimes. It's almost worse after you've lived without for so long, and when they come back it's harder to deal with. Would you like me to sit with you for a while?"

She was being far too logical at the moment, and Draco couldn't seem to think straight while he knew she was sitting so close to him while barely covered. "No, I'll be alright," he responded almost too quickly, "I think I'll just try to go back to sleep."

Hermione placed her hand on his thigh, far too close for his comfort, "Are you sure? Would you like a dreamless sleep potion, I think I still have some."

"I'll be fine, really. Once I'm awake it fades away," that was a lie, but right now he could barely focus on holding a normal conversation with her when he was so distracted by matters other than his nightmare. "Talking about it has helped too."

"All right, if you're sure," he felt her stand from the bed before she stroked his hair back from his face gently. "Better dreams," she whispered before kissing his forehead. She turned away from him, and he heard her pad softly towards the door.

Letting out a harsh sigh, Draco flopped back on the bed in frustration. In the seven years that he and Hermione had been friends, he had not once looked at her as more than a friend. Sure, he had noticed that she had matured physically when they first became reacquainted. He even admitted to himself that she was attractive, but never in all that time, had he considered the possibility of being more than just friends. Why, suddenly, did he have the very strong desire to be much more than friends with St. Mungo's resident know-it-all?

Though it was easy to admit that he thought Hermione attractive, she was not the girl he usually went for. His "type" as Hermione herself had declared, were tall, leggy, and usually blonde (though he wasn't picky) supermodels that were good for two things, as arm candy and in bed.

Mentally Draco began to compare Hermione to Veronica his most recent in a string of similarly vapid girlfriends. The former Gryffindor was of a similar height, though slightly shorter than his ex he supposed, but she was more curvaceous, where Veronica had been so slim as to appear a little sickly now that he thought about it.

The thought of Veronica no longer brought him to attention, as it had not long ago, even after their breakup. In fact his erection deflated somewhat at the thought of Veronica anywhere near him, and instead the picture of Hermione dropping her barely there towel and climbing on top of him had him painfully hard in seconds.

Draco groaned aloud in frustration, he thought about taking care of himself, but that somehow seemed wrong to be across the hall from Hermione in her house and thinking about her in a manner that until recently he would never have dreamed. For he knew that only thoughts of the witch whose house he was in would bring him off now. No ordinary fantasy with a nameless faceless woman would suffice; he wanted her.

Thinking back, the potioneer began to wonder how long he had been subverting the truth from his conscious mind. It was quite clear to him now that he had been lusting after Hermione for some time, but had never acknowledged it fully. How else was he able to draw a fantasy of her doing all the things that got him off so easily? No, the bookworm had been on his mind for some time, but Draco was at a loss to pinpoint when it had occurred.

Rolling onto his side he settled under the covers once more, preparing himself for a sleepless night of pondering the subject of one Hermione Jean Granger.

x-x-x-x-x

Hermione was embarrassed and her only saving grace at this moment in her humiliation was that Draco at least had not seen her in her state of undress, even if he was aware of it. She felt silly for jumping to conclusions and racing around in only her towel. Sure something had been wrong, but it certainly wasn't an intruder in her home as she had first guessed. She would just have to grin and bear her tactlessness, and pray that Draco did not realize the depths of her mortification.

Sighing heavily, Hermione went about finishing her nightly routine before climbing into her bed. She lay staring at the ceiling for some time, contemplating the present situation. She ran through experiments she would need to conduct to and the research she would need to do, in order to cure Draco, trying to use her methodical thinking as a calming tool.

Finally, as her brain slowed enough for her to attempt to sleep she thought of her friend, and how right it had felt to hold and comfort him as he suffered through his nightmare. Though they had been close friends for a long time now, Hermione had to admit, if only to herself and the in the privacy of her bedroom late at night that she had always found Draco attractive. She had never let on to him or anyone else, and she thought she never would, but suddenly having him as a resident in her house for the foreseeable future made her slight crush come roaring back to the forefront of her mind.

Thinking once more about her duties as his Healer brought a halt to her musings, and served to remind her that she needed to act professionally, even if the circumstances were unusual, she was first and foremost his Doctor and needed to act accordingly. She was ashamed of her outburst after dinner, and all the touching and hugging that she did with Draco was something she needed to consider. As his Healer she would need to touch him at times, but she should try her best to put aside her feelings and her normal tendencies while he was her patient.

Rolling over to her stomach Hermione pushed her thoughts of Draco in any capacity, intimate and professional, out of her mind and settled in to go to sleep.

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**Author's Response to Reviews**

PantsofLove: You called it hehe!

Hanable-13: I actually don't think Draco snores, but in this case he was exhausted and just passed out flat on his back and so that caused his snoring. Just thought you'd want to know. He is after all, far to refined to snore under normal circumstances.


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